Spaghetti Squash with Arugula Pesto

Spaghetti squash is my favorite squash of the season. I really enjoy the vegetable-like strands of flesh that resemble spaghetti, hence its name. This squash is a nutritious low-calorie and gluten-free substitute for pasta. It works well with most sauces. I made an Asian inspired dish with it the last time – Stir-Fry Spaghetti Squash with Shrimps, and so I decided on a more Western approach this time.
Organic baby arugula was on a buy-one-get-one-free sale while I was at the store purchasing the squash. I placed a couple of bags in my cart. I had seen several recipes on the internet using arugula for pesto and was curious about the taste. Since pine nuts are really costly, I decided to use sliced almonds instead. I also picked up a bag of shredded parmesan cheese and a lemon. Extra virgin olive oil is something I always have in my pantry. I had all the ingredients and was excited to get home to put this Spaghetti Squash with Arugula Pesto dish together.

The pesto was slightly bitter but not overly so. I think using baby arugula helped. The bitterness was also tempered by the almonds and parmesan cheese. In fact, I thought it went really well with the lightly flavored spaghetti squash. I enjoyed the dish and so did Ro-Ri San and Ro-Jiro. It was light and delicious, perfect for lunch. The lemon juice gave it a nice zing!

I did not think it was necessary to toast the sliced almonds so that the pesto remained buttery. Please go ahead and toast it if you prefer.

Combine arugula, garlic, almonds, parmesan cheese, and salt in a food processor. Give it a few pulses. With machine running, gradually add olive oil through the feed tube of food processor. Process until smooth.

My husband recently had spaghetti squash while out to dinner with his mother and could not stop praising it. I must make some spaghetti squash soon and this is a great idea using pesto to dress it. Have a wonderful weekend. ~ Ramona

This is a simple and lovely dish, Biren. I didn’t know the salad is called arugula. We called it rucola or rocquette over here. I love the peppery taste of this salad. Infact I’ve made the pesto several times, but with pine nuts
BTW, I have never tried the spaghetti squash. Infact I have not seen these sold in our local supermarkets. Maybe I should be more alert the next time…

I wish you and your family a healthy, wealthy and succesful Chinese New Year! Gong Xi Fa Cai!

I know I would LOVE this, as arugula is probably my favourite salad green and it’s wonderful with parmesan. I have seen spaghetti squash many times at the supermarket but to be honest, was always a little put off by the stringy appearance of the squash flesh! I can’t imagine why I would feel that way though as I love squash in general. I guess we all have our silly little food prejudices? Your photos are drop dead delicious and the one with the little bowl of pesto in the middle foreground is absolutely stunning!